The present disclosure relates to process control systems, and more specifically, to monitoring and control of tangible processes and monitoring of process participants using mobile wireless client devices.
Prior systems for controlling industrial processes generally include actuators, radiating elements, sensors, or other mechanical, electrical, or chemical devices and instrumentation, at least some of which are operated by a type of logic device, generally referred to as process controllers, that monitor and control aspects of an industrial process. The process controllers that initiates and terminates a process may be implemented by simple on-off switches or other such controls. However, other process controllers may monitor and/or control various other aspects of a process, and may require continuous or periodic monitoring and intervention by an operator to ensure the process has the desired outcome.
Specific to commodities, the transfer and/or loading and unloading process can be burdensome and hazardous to the operator, creating issues of health and safety. With such industrial processes, for example, loading a transport vehicle from an overhead bin that uses a simple control gate and gravity for moving commodity into the transport bin, it is feasible to load a complete vehicle in just over one minute. In order to safely operate such systems, two operators are sometimes required. One operator turns the commodity bin gate on and off to regulate flow, and another operator periodically repositions the vehicle as various sections of the transport bin become full. Such labor costs and inefficiencies of requiring two operators are often not acceptable in industry. Dust and noise from the commodity loading can further complicate the loading task and increase risk. Additionally, inclement weather, such as snow or rain, combined with extended loading time required if using only one operator can degrade the quality of the commodity being loaded.
Therefore, there is a need to provide for safer, more effective monitoring and control of industrial processes and individuals associated with those processes.